A/HRC/40/59/Add.3 30. Visits, telephone calls and letters are only allowed with the express permission of investigating officers. For detainees accused of crimes in connection with the armed conflict, who undergo even more lengthy investigations, the resulting isolation from the outside world is often additionally prolonged. 2. Overall conditions of detention 31. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the ongoing reforms of the penitentiary system in the government-controlled territory of Ukraine. The overall conditions of detention observed were generally acceptable, and efforts to renovate and modernize some centres, in particular various “temporary detention facilities” (pretrial centres) “under authority of the National Police of Ukraine”.were noted. 32. However, most of the detention infrastructure is very old and in dire need of renovation or replacement. Some cells and pavilions the Special Rapporteur visited had very poor sanitary conditions. Some detainees reported that their cells were poorly heated and infested with cockroaches. In Odesa remand prison, the cell walls were covered in mould and the sanitary installations were reported to be often clogged. In addition, occasional leaking or lack of heating was noticed in some cells, while others were poorly ventilated. 33. The 2015 amendment to the Criminal Code,3 which instituted the rule of calculating every day spent in a remand prison as two days of sentence, was intended to reduce the duration of detention. That law was abolished in June 2017, however its provisions are still applied to the detainees arrested before that date. 34. At the time of the visit, there were approximately 60,000 sentenced inmates accommodated in 148 institutions with an official capacity of 100,000 places. However, due to the poor conditions of the infrastructure, the inmates in some institutions were concentrated in fewer blocks, thus considerably reducing the available space per inmate. That was particularly the case for the Kyiv SIZO, where, due to refurbishments, the number of inmates exceeded the capacity. 35. In most of the remand prisons and colonies visited, the occupancy rate was lower than the official maximum capacity of the institution. However, the official capacity of places of detention appears to be calculated on the basis of available beds rather than available space per inmate, which in some facilities results in available surface areas as small as 2 m2 or less per inmate, thus clearly falling short of the universally recommended minimum standards of 3.4 m2 per inmate in collective accommodation and 5.4 m2 in single cells.4 36. Blankets and mattresses were available to all the inmates the Special Rapporteur visited, although many were old and in need of replacement. Detainees in the Bakhmut remand prison complained about poor sanitary conditions and bedbugs. Most hygienic products including toilet paper and soap were reportedly not provided by the administration, and detainees were said to have to rely on outside support including family contributions or donations from humanitarian organizations to maintain tolerable living conditions. This problem reportedly also affected the specific needs of female detainees. All detainees were reported to receive three meals a day, although in most places the food was described as “inedible”. As a consequence, most inmates were reported to rely almost exclusively on supplementary food they received through family parcels. 37. The Special Rapporteur is pleased to report that the conditions in the guardroom of the Southern territorial administration of the Ukrainian Military Police were found to be fully compliant with international standards. Cells were adequately lit and ventilated, the quality and quantity of the food seemed satisfactory, detainees had access to basic hygienic products and the relationship between detainees and guards seemed relaxed and appropriate. 3 4 Act No. 838-VIII of 26 November 2015 amending the Criminal Code, in force as of 24 December 2015. International Committee of the Red Cross, Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Habitat in Prisons: Supplementary Guidance (Geneva, 2012), p. 33. 7